In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he wasn’t very happy with the way the church was taking communion–the Lord’s Supper. They would often have a “love feast”–it was a big event kind of like our church picnics. First Corinthians 11:17–34 indicates that some were gorging themselves at the feast while others were left hungry. Some were even getting drunk. The people were not waiting for one another, nor were they sharing—they ate the food they brought themselves, and, if someone couldn’t bring much, he did without. Separation between rich and poor was evident and somewhere in all of this “the Lord’s Supper” got lost.
Paul said they weren’t even really eating the Lord’s supper. (vs.20) So, he asked them to do a “heart check,” (as we should do). Am I taking communion to remember Christ’s sacrifice for me? Am I just going through the motions, participating in the ritual? Have I daily been confessing words I’ve spoken I shouldn’t have, or participated in any grumbling? Have I been selfish?
Does that mean we have to be perfect to participate? Absolutely not! We just need to be honest with God and ourselves. Communion is a good time to reflect and to remember Jesus shed his blood and sacrificed his body for you and me to live life abundantly with the promise of eternity with him! We will never be perfect, as he was, but we can walk with him as closely as possible and keep growing and learning how to be more like him.
In that moment of reflection before we eat and drink in remembrance, we can ask him to help us forgive others, and create in us a clean heart! (Psalm 51:10) We can pray for unity in the body of believers and ask how we can be a unifier and encourager. We can ask him to reveal any way we have strayed from his perfect will and plan for us. Most importantly, we can tell Jesus how much we love him and want to be more like him. It’s about HIM, His glory, His honor, His mercy!
Deb Hill
EFCC Member